


Dan and Phil’s Christmas

by stevexscrsggy



Category: Dan Howell and Phil Lester - Fandom
Genre: Christmas, Christmas Fluff, Domestic Fluff, Fluff, M/M, Phan - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-23
Updated: 2020-12-23
Packaged: 2021-03-11 01:42:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,606
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28277058
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stevexscrsggy/pseuds/stevexscrsggy
Summary: Dan and Phil are heading off to their families houses for Christmas as they do every year, but since Dan has to leave his family’s home early, will he spend Christmas alone? A secret santa gift for @WONDERDNP !!
Relationships: Dan Howell & Phil Lester, Dan Howell/Phil Lester
Comments: 1
Kudos: 16





	Dan and Phil’s Christmas

“Which star do we want on top of the tree this year? Sexy ghost star or plain old regular star?” 

“Hmm,” Phil mused, “Sexy ghost star.”

“Again?” Dan laughed. “Poor plain old regular star. Never got it’s time to shine.”

“I never thought you’d make me feel guilty over a Christmas tree topper,” Phil shot back. Dan laughed again. It was easy when Phil was around. Dan smiled at him fondly. He wished Phil never had to leave. 

“What are you thinking about?” Phil asked, taking a step closer to Dan and snaking an arm around his back. Dan looked down towards Phil’s arm and then back up to meet Phil’s eyes. 

“Just thinking about how you’re going to leave for home tomorrow.”

“Oh?” Phil raised an eyebrow. “Got any plans for when I’m not around?”

Dan giggled, and Phil joined in. “No, you spork. I’m just going to miss you.”

“It’s not too late to change your mind, you know. My mum would be happy to have you around,” Phil offered. Dan shook his head and looped his arms around Phil’s neck. 

“I still have so much work to do. Besides, I have to actually spend some more time with my family this year.”

“Yeah, I know,” Phil sighed. He leaned forward and affectionately rested his forehead against Dan’s. From that angle, Dan could analyze the lines and angles of Phil’s face; the sweep of his eyelashes, the edges of his jawline, the curves of his lips. Dan smiled shyly and then closed the gap, kissing Phil gently. He smiled again. Phil got him to do that a lot. Everything was just better when he was there. 

*************************

The alarm was blaring on Phil’s phone. “Get Ready to Leave for Train” lit up on the screen. Dan was still sleeping blissfully beside him despite all of the racket. Phil didn’t want to wake him up; he looked too adorable when he was asleep. The way that his face was softened and rounder by sleep, and his curls were strewn right and left--not that Phil could tell which was right or which was left--always filled Phil with the surge of love Phil felt for him on the first day that they’d met over 11 years before. Phil carefully extracted himself from his position as the big spoon, and Dan stirred a bit. Phil smiled. He carefully crouched in front of the bed and pressed a kiss to Dan’s forehead, whose eyelashes fluttered a bit. He seemed to be in that about-to-wake-up state for a moment, but drowsiness pulled him back under.

Phil took a pair of black jeans and a color-blocked pink and purple hoodie from the closet and went to the bathroom to change out of his pajamas. He stared himself down in the mirror as he brushed his teeth and combed his hair, checking that his quiff was in place. He walked down the hall but paused in Dan’s doorway. He couldn’t leave without one last look. He affectionately mussed Dan’s hair, still asleep, then whispered a goodbye before he walked quickly down the rest of the length of the hall and left the apartment, luggage in hand.

The whole city was dark grey and foggy, looking through the frosted windows of the cab. The street lamps still glowed orange, casting fractal-shaped shadows on the grey fabric seats. Phil’s gaze was fixated on the warping and fading shadows, as the driver hummed along to an old war-time Christmas song playing softly on the radio.

_I’ll be home for Christmas…_

Phil played with the frayed edges of his coat.

_You can count on me…_

He reached into his pocket.

_I’ll be home for Christmas…_

He grabbed his phone and began typing.

_If only in my dreams._

He pressed send. 

“Already miss you more than you could know.”

It wasn’t until a few hours later, halfway through the train ride, that he got a reply back.

The landscape outside was dusted in fresh snow, and had that magical air that comes with it, even though there were still bare, ugly patches of yellow grass peeking through. Phil was painting messy swirls on the cold glass of the window with his finger when there was a buzzing noise in his pocket. It took a moment to register before he realized that it was from Dan. Not looking away from the scraggy landscape, he reached into his coat pocket again and saw his reply.

“i miss you too </3” 

Phil chuckled under his breath and shook his head. Dan still texted straight out of the early 2000s sometimes. The grey typing bubble popped up in the corner. 

“you should have woken me up before you left”

In a separate message:

“at least then i could have given you a kiss first”

Phil smirked and typed out his own response.

“Not with that morning breath”

Seconds later:

“fuck you”

Phil: “i love you too”

Dan: “:(“

Phil: “you were too cute wake up”

Dan: “now that’s an acceptable answer”

Phil looked out of the window again. The patterns that he drew on the glass had faded again. The countryside looked all blotchy now, but the sun had come out and started spraying miniature rainbows across the train car through the tiny ice crystals on the window. He looked back down at his phone and typed out a new message.

Phil: “What time will you be heading out to see your family?”

Dan: “tomorrow at noon” 

Phil: “When will you be back?”

Dan: “christmas at around 5 pm i reckon”

Phil: “Nice. All packed up?”

Dan: “no. that’s a problem for 11:45 tomorrow”

Phil: “Dannnnnnnn”

Dan: “phillllllll”

Phil: “Start packing”

Dan: : “ugh, fine. i’ll text you when i’m done. byeeeeee”

Phil didn’t put his phone down. Instead, he texted his Mum.

Phil: “I think I’ll have to leave early on Christmas day.”

*************************

Phil knocked on the door. He stood there waddling in place to try to keep warm as his breath came out in clouds in the frigid air. His glasses were all fogged up and his hands were firmly in his pockets trying to retain some warmth. After a few seconds he heard footsteps approaching the door. The door opened quickly, causing a few loose pine needles to fall from the decorative wreath hanging on it. There in the doorway stood Cath, beaming from ear to ear, as she drew Phil in for a warm hug. 

“There you are, my boy. I missed you.”

“I missed you too, Mum.”

“Come in, come in! It’s freezing out there,” Cath said, her thick Northern accent becoming apparent.

“Thank you,” Phil said, shivering. “Wow, it smells amazing in here!”

“Those’ll be the pies,” Cath replied, smiling.

“Ooh, don’t mind if I do!” 

“Nuh uh,” Cath caught hold of Phil’s sleeve mid-step, “not until after dinner.” Phil laughed. Maybe he was over 30 years old now, but some things would never change.

“I got your text,” Cath said, changing the topic. “Is there anything wrong? Why do you have to leave early?”

“Nothing’s wrong, but Dan has to leave his family’s house right on Christmas so he can get some work done, and I just don’t want him to spend it alone.”

“Aw, well that’s sweet of you.”

“Thanks,” Phil laughed nervously, his cheeks reddening. His mum pinched his cheeks.

“Look at you all blushy and flustered,” Cath cooed. “You really love him, don’t you?”

“Mummmmmm,” Phil groaned. Cath shot him a knowing look, and he offered a reluctant smile in return. “Yeah,” he said, his voice cracking slightly, “I do.”

“Aw.” Cath was beaming. “Well, let’s get your coat and shoes off and get some cooking done, alright?”

*************************

Phil was covered in flour from head-to-toe, rolling out cookie doughs and pie crusts. Martyn and Cornelia had arrived a few hours later and joined Phil in the kitchen, so witty banter and… well, a comedic altercation that resulted in a bit of a flour war ensued. Of course, after blowing flour in each other’s face and tossing small handfuls of it at each other, the kitchen was a mess, so they spent an hour just cleaning up afterwards, but it was worth it. By the time he’d gotten himself all washed up and finally gotten around to checking his phone again, he noticed a missed call from Dan and a string of text messages. “phil. phil. phil. phil. phil. phillllllllllllll.” Phil tapped Dan’s number and waited for him to pick up. The call went through.

“Hey Dan, is everything alright?”

“Yeah, yeah everything is fine. Just wanted to make sure you got there safely. Did I scare you?”

“A little bit.”

“Well, karma’s a bitch. That's what you get for not answering me for two hours.” They both giggled.

“What have you been doing at the apartment all by yourself?”

“Having the most fun I’ve ever had. I’m so glad I have the whole place to myself for once,” Dan replied, his voice dripping with sarcasm. 

“Awww. I miss you so much bear. At least you’ll get to see your family tomorrow.”

“Yeah, but I wish that didn’t mean I have to go back to my hometown.”

“Yeah,” Phil sighed. “At least it’s only for a few days. I know the toll it takes on you.”

“Yeah, and then I’ll be home again, on Christmas Day, all by myself.”

Phil tried very hard to keep the smile out of his voice. He wasn’t so sure about that.

“Hey, I’ll be home soon enough. Don’t enjoy yourself too much while I’m away.”

Dan laughed. “In all seriousness, I’ll be okay. Go have fun with your family. I’m excited to see mine. It’s all good.”

Phil smiled. “I think I’ll go do that then. I love you.”

“I love you too, Phil,” Dan said, his voice soft. 

The next few days seemed to go by in a flash. The family all played board games together, and watched movies. Cath stuffed them all with food and countless mugs of hot chocolate. It even snowed for a few hours on Christmas Eve, so naturally the brothers and Cornelia had to go outside and throw snowballs and make snowmen like they were still kids. They laughed until their stomachs hurt and their noses glowed redder than Rudolph’s. The Queen spoke. Christmas day rolled around and that seemed to pass in seconds too. Stockings were emptied and wrapping paper fell in shreds. It was amazing. Christmas tended to have that magical air about it, the glowing lights and burning candles and the ever-present smell of cinnamon and cloves and the gold and red glitter. Unfortunately, Phil couldn’t stay for Christmas dinner. He had plans. But Cath gave him enough mince pies to make up for it. It was all hugs and and smiling goodbyes and before Phil knew it he was on the 12 pm train back to London. 

He sent Dan a simple text. 

“Merry Christmas :)”

***************************

Phil walked into the entryway and closed the door behind him with his foot, as his hands were filled with his suitcase and grocery store bags. He’d made a quick stop at ASDA before he went home. 

He got to work. 

He set about arranging Poinsettias on the coffee table in the living room, as well as lining the room with some pine-scented tea candles on the shelves and cupboards. Normally, he and Dan opened presents whenever they both finally got home, so they already had presents under the tree waiting for them when they got back, but Phil decided he’d get him a little something extra. It was a simple black trenchcoat that he’d noticed Dan’s gaze lingering on when they’d walked together through the shops in London getting gifts for their friends, but Dan never ended up buying because they were on a tight schedule. He wrapped it up as carefully as he could in silver striped wrapping paper, trying his hardest to keep the wrapping paper from wrinkling around the soft wool fabric. He was never much for wrapping, but this time he tried to prevent as many dents from forming and corners from poking out as possible, his tongue sticking out in concentration. He arranged the mince pies his mum had given him on the table next to the poinsettias, along with some other Cath Christmas specialties, set up “Home Alone” on the TV, and played some festive music in the background. As a final touch, he dimmed the lights and hung some mistletoe in the entryway to the lounge. It was 4:45 pm now. Dan would be with Phil any moment now, but he didn’t know that. 

At 5:00 sharp, Phil heard the door open. Dan grunted as he dragged his luggage inside, and Phil heard the clinking of Dan’s apartment key as it fell into the bowl by the door. Suddenly, everything was quiet. He knew Dan was frozen, trying to make out if he was actually hearing soft Christmas music coming from the lounge. He could hear Dan moving again, now as slowly and quietly as possible, removing his shoes and hanging his coat on the hook, before walking slowly towards the lounge and creaking open the door. He gasped and a hand flew to his chest at the shock of seeing someone behind the door, but then a beaming smile spread across his face as he attacked Phil in a bear hug.

“Phil!!!”

“Merry Christmas!” Phil sang, laughing loudly. Dan pulled back and looked around at the rest of the room and inhaled. 

“What’s all this?” He said, his grin widening.

“I didn’t want you to spend Christmas all alone, so I thought I’d make it extra special for you.” Phil watched as Dan’s face melted into an expression of utter adoration and fondness.

“Awwww, you shouldn’t have. What about your family?”

Phil shrugged. “They’ll be fine. It’s all for good reason.”

Dan was speechless. Goddamn, was he lucky. Wordlessly, he wrapped Phil in a tight hug, swaying on the spot, with his face buried in Phil’s shoulder. Phil threaded his hand through Dan’s curls while the other rested on his lower back. After a while, he noticed they were still in the doorway. He looked up at the ceiling, and Dan, noticing this shift in movement, followed his gaze. He smiled when his eyes landed on the mistletoe hanging there. He put his hand on the side of Phil’s face, tilting his face down so his eyes met Dan’s, before Dan drew him in for a slow and gentle kiss. Their grip around each other tightened. When they broke apart, Phil rested his forehead against Dan’s who’s eyes were trained on the ground as he let out a breathy laugh. Phil watched as his warm brown eyes flickered back up to meet his, and Phil lovingly tucked a stray curl behind Dan’s ear. In the background, he noticed that _I’ll Be Home For Christmas_ had begun to play. He took a step back and extended his hand to Dan. Dan looked down at Phil’s hand then back at Phil’s face, confused.

“Dance with me,” Phil murmured. Another smile broke out onto Dan’s face. Phil loved it when he made Dan smile. Dan took Phil’s hand, twirled, and smoothly slipped his arms around Phil’s waist while Phil hooked his arms around Dan’s neck. He kissed the tip of Dan’s nose and brought their foreheads together again as they swayed together in the dark, spinning and dancing and smiling and laughing together.

_Christmas Eve will find me_

_Where the love light gleams_

_I’ll be home for Christmas_

_If only in my dreams..._

**Author's Note:**

> Merry Christmas!! Stay safe, I know it’s been a crazy year, but here’s to 2021!!
> 
> -Drea <33


End file.
